'We need to be better examples of what we invite others to do'
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"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."(Matt. 5:16.)
At the October 1998 general conference, Elder Henry B. Eyring of the Quorum of the Twelve spoke of the teachings of the Savior to His disciples on what is commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount:
"We will need to be better examples of what we invite others to do,"
said Elder Eyring. "In a darkening world, this command [Matt. 5:16]
of the Savior will become more important
"Most of us are modest enough to think that our small candle of example might be too dim to be noticed. But you and your family are watched more than you may realize. I had the chance in the spring of this year [1998] to attend and speak at meetings with nearly 300 ministers and leaders of other churches. I visited alone with as many as I could. I asked them why they had been so attentive to my message, which was to recount the origins of the Church, to tell of the young Joseph Smith's First Vision and of living prophets. In every case, they gave essentially the same answer. They told a story of a person or a family — a story of knowing some of you. One repeated often was of a neighbor family, Latter-day Saints: 'They were the finest family I have ever known.' Often they spoke of some community effort or public response to a disaster where members of the Church worked in a way which to them seemed remarkable.
"The people I met at those meetings could not yet recognize the truth in the doctrine, but they had already seen its fruit in your lives, and so they were ready to listen. They were ready to listen to the truths of the Restoration — that families can be sealed forever and that the gospel can change our very natures. They were ready because of your examples."
